Baseball and football legend Bo Jackson returns to his home state of Alabama this week for his second annual Bo Bikes Bamacharity ride. Held on April 27—the anniversary of the largest tornado outbreak in history, when 252 people died in Alabama—the community ride unites cyclists of all stripes on a group ride through areas devastated by the 2011 storm. Proceeds benefit the governor’s emergency relief fund and help build tornado shelters.

Alabama cyclist Kim Cross, who rode with Jackson last year, caught up with him a month before the event to ask about his training, this year’s ride, and what it’s like to be ESPN’s Greatest Athlete of All Time and still struggle up hills.

Kim Cross: You’re calling from your home in Chicago. It’s still pretty cold there. When was the last time you were on your bike?
Bo Jackson: Today it’s getting up to 42 degrees. I haven’t been out on my bike yet this year. It’s still cold and wet, and I don’t want to slip and hurt myself.

When did you catch the cycling bug?
I’ve been riding bicycles since I was four or five years old. I have really gotten into cycling in the past two or three years from the standpoint of physical fitness because I don’t run any more. It’s another way to keep my legs and back strong. It’s a very social exercise.

Do you remember your first big ride? How’d it go?
My first big ride was last year!

Where do you typically ride?
I get on my bike in Illinois. You can get on a bike path, get into the forest reserve, and probably cross a street three times. You don’t have to deal with traffic. We have dirt paths too.

What kind of cyclist will find Bo Bikes Bama most appealing?
You can have kids from their early teens to senior citizens, and everyone is having fun. It is not a race. It is what I call a celebration ride. Everybody that rides in it is a winner, in that they’re riding for a good cause. And that is to make the rest of the world aware that there are towns in Alabama that still need help.

Last year you pedaled 300 miles in 5 days. I rode with you on days four and five. You looked sore, but had a great attitude. Which day hurt the worst? How did you get through it?
The day that hurt the worst was the first day. Climbing that hill in Guntersville. That was the day that caught everybody by surprise. I didn’t know that that hill was there. I knew it was there, but I didn’t know it from the standpoint of trying to cycle up that hill. The very first day, I got a cramp. I made it to my room, showered, and when I went to get up, it hit me, right above my knee. I was screaming like a little girl! Pickle juice was my savior. I drank that every morning and evening, and I ever since I’ve been drinking it, I haven’t had a cramp.

Was it good? I’ve heard of people making pickle-juice popsicles. But was it good or did you gag?
If I need it, it doesn’t matter how bad it tastes. If it’s going to stop the cramps, I’ll drink it. Every day I drank six to eight ounces of pickle juice before I got on my bike.

I noticed one pro athlete hop in the SAG wagon for a ride up one of the hills. But you pedaled every mile. Was there any good-natured smack talk in the bus?
You must be talking about Griffey?

Yep. (Sorry, Ken!)
We are talking now about it! He said he was going home to Florida, getting a new bike, and starting to train. He says he is going to come back this year.

You really won my heart when I saw you suffering on those hills, at the back of the pack of ordinary Joes. That shows more character than a dump truck of Heisman Trophies.
The thing with that is most cyclists don’t weigh more than 160 pounds. I’m carrying 100 more pounds than they are. So us big guys, it takes us a little longer to get up those hills. We’re having to burn more energy, use more muscles… but trust me, I said it on day one. Hills and Bo Jackson don’t get along.

At one rest stop, at the top of a particularly brutal hill, Lance quipped, “Bo don’t know hills.” I don’t think you were even there to defend yourself. Would you like to offer Lance a solid comeback?
That is what Lance does for a living. I could get him on a baseball and football field and say, "Lance don’t know Jack about anything!"

Nice.
We had fun. Every day there was something special people took from the ride. It was all about getting to know your fellow Alabamians. But we also had people from Florida, Texas, Oregon, New York, the Carolinas, Illinois, Wisconsin—all over the place. My favorite out-of-stater, we called him Jersey Dan.

He was the paraplegic athlete who had a bike he pedaled with his arms. Didn’t he ride all five days? Everyone loved him.
Yeah. I think he’s coming back this year.

You decided to make Bo Bikes Bama an annual event, and you’ve changed the format. How did you change it, and why?
My goal from the start was always to make it annual. The only change is that instead of a five-day ride it’s a one-day ride. We will do it in a different part of the state every year, in a town affected by the tornado, like Cordova this year.

Trek donated six bikes—with the names of people who died on April 27 written on the frame—and you rode a different one each day. Are you riding those bikes again this year? Are they still up for auction?
Actually, I may ride one of those bikes or I may ride my own personal bike. I have my bike in the basement. I don’t have to do anything but put it in its case.

What do you ride?
A Trek Madone. Carbon. I love it.

What are your goals for Bo Bikes Bama moving forward?
My goal is to raise enough money to go into the little towns in Tornado Alley and construct community tornado shelters. Not just a shelter that can hold five or six people. I want to construct them where the majority of the neighborhood can get in there and be safe.

Ride or donate: This year, riders can join Jackson on a 20-mile loop ($40) or a 60-mile route ($60) around Cordova, a small town still struggling to rebuild. If you can’t ride, but still want to help, donate $10 by texting “BOBIKES” to 50555, or attend the April 26 silent auction ($100) at the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.